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Tom Vermeersch, a public health veterinarian with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service, has volunteered to serve in Afghanistan for 13 months to help rebuild its agricultural sector. Just three weeks in, he already has developed a program to get blood samples to determine how widespread certain animal diseases are and compile a database, which could aid in future eradication efforts.

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Entrepreneurs who are just starting their businesses need to start small and build on their successes, writes USA TODAY columnist Gladys Edmunds. Small, independent shops need to differentiate themselves from their large competitors and drive success step by step by following a written business plan.

State wildlife biologists in Florida report that a rare cold stretch has led to deaths among shallow water fish such as snook and threatened rare native sea turtles and manatees. The weather also has hurt the green iguana and Burmese python, two invasive species that Florida wildlife officials want gone from the state.

A 27-year study of polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea found that the animals are shifting their habitat from sea ice to land and water as a consequence of the continuous melting of Arctic sea ice. Researchers said the results have implications both on the bears and on humans, since this could lead to more encounters between people and the animals on land. The study also underscores the need for programs focused on managing bear-human interactions.

A recent Ad-ology study indicates that small-business owners are slow to adapt to social-media marketing, largely because they think they don't have time for it. However, social media can save managers time by making it quicker to answer customer questions and studies show that customers are using social media, writes Outspoken Media marketing guru Lisa Barone.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman called on farmers and ranchers to oppose what he called "misguided, activist-driven" climate legislation pending in Congress. During the group's convention Sunday, Stallman criticized animal-rights activists for opposing the use of modern farm production methods, saying such moves would "destroy our ability to produce the meat that Americans want to eat."